


New Friends

by Afalstein



Series: Recruitment Drive [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Covert Affairs, House M.D.
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Hospital, Multiple Crossovers, Recruitment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 10:59:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3934288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Afalstein/pseuds/Afalstein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie's weak and dying from a strange heart condition, and Eyal is running out of ideas.  Then one day, Annie wakes up to see young brunette biochemist and a balding middle-aged man.  They're going to be good friends, he insists.  Takes place between seasons 4 and 5 of Covert Affairs and seasons 1 and 2 of Agents of SHIELD</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Causal Acquaintances

            It was about three weeks after Annie’s escape from China, and less two weeks into her struggle with death, when they came for her.

            It was in a dirty little safehouse in Jerusalem.  She’d been slipping in and out of consciousness for days.  Eyal was doing his best, but they were still a good ways from even knowing what was wrong with her.  Eyal had pleaded with her to let him take her to a hospital, or call in one of his doctor friends, but always, she emphatically denied him.  This had to be kept quiet.  A hospital would mean records, and records would eventually get around to the CIA, and that would be the end of her entire life with them. 

She trusted Eyal.  He could help her, and he could do it without calling anyone else.  Everytime she woke up to see that dusky face looking at her anxiously, she was reminded of that fact, and it made her feel that much calmer.

            So when she woke up to see a rather more pink-looking brunette girl readying a syringe, Annie’s heart-rate spiked incredibly.

            “Oh dear.”  The brunette said, dropping the syringe.  “Oh dear!”  She said again, as Annie leapt out of bed, drawing her pistol(concealed under the mattress, where she could get to it in an andrenaline-fueled frenzy).  “Oh dear ohdearohdear...”  The girl said, backing up rapidly.  Her accent sounded english.

            “Who are you!?”  Annie demanded, gun pointed squarely between the girl’s eyes.  “Where’s Eyal!?”

            She registered the person behind her two seconds before she heard the gunshot.

 Something thudded into her back—too soft to be a bullet—and her legs gave out under her.  As darkness closed in around her, she saw a balding middle-aged man in a suit lower his gun and study her with concern. 

            And then she was gone.

* * *

 

            All things considered, it was a surprise that she didn’t wake up in a Russian prison.  Or a Chinese prison.  Or any other sort of prison.  In fact, the fact that she woke up exactly in the same bed, staring once again at Eyal’s concerned face, made her briefly wonder if the whole thing had been a dream.

            And then she saw the pistol pressed up against Eyal’s head.

            “Sorry about this.”  It was the same middle-aged man she’d seen before, smiling pleasantly on the other end of the pistol.  “And about that other thing, earlier.  In fact, the only reason I’m doing this...”  He nodded at the gun, “...is to avoid having to do that, again.”

            Annie’s eyes sought out Eyal’s.  “Are you okay?”

            He raised an eyebrow.  “Am I...?”

            “Quite a nasty heart condition you have, Ms. Walker.”  The brunette walked into her field of vision.  “We had you on some rather experimental meds there for a bit... we were worried how they might interact with the dendro-toxin in the Icer.”  She smiled reassuringly.  “Fortunately, it appears you’re in tip-top shape, so no need to fret.”

            Annie stared at her a moment.  “Who are you people?”

            The girl seemed a little puzzled.  “Well, I’m Agent Simmons, and this...”

            “We’re SHIELD.”  The middle-aged man cut in. 

            “Shit.”  Annie made a spasmodic attempt to rise.  Eyal grabbed her and pushed her down, giving a slight shake to his head. 

            “Look.”  The man tried a pleasant smile, as Annie and Eyal held a wordless conversation.  “I’ll be the first to admit that’s SHIELD’s looking pretty black right now.  We’ve had some problems.”  The smile became a bit more impish.  “You can’t expect us to be as vigilant as the  CIA, which has never had trouble with corruption or high-ranking traitors or...”

            “The CIA isn’t full of KGB operatives.”  Annie countered.

            “You’d... be surprised.”  The man tilted his head.  “How many moles have you uncovered in your career, exactly?”

            Annie’s eyes narrowed.  “Sorry, what was your name again?”

            “Agent Phil Coulson.”

            There was an odd casualness to the words, a too-natural smoothness to them, that told Annie that the answer wasn’t the full story.  Agent Simmons slightly started, and seemed about to say something, before turning away and returning to her work with suspicious energy.

            She let it pass for now.  “What are you here for?”  She asked.

“To patch you up.”  Coulson nodded at the other girl.  “Agent Simmons is one of the foremost medical specialists in the world, but she’s even she’s rather puzzled by this... condition of yours.”

“YOU called them in.”  Annie shot an accusing gaze at Eyal.

He lifted an eyebrow at her.  “Do I seem like the sort of person who consorts with Nazis?”

“We’re not Nazis.”  Coulson interposed.

“They just showed up here one day.  I came back to check on you and he...”  Eyal jerked a thumb back at Coulson, “...was sitting in the living room.”

“I am really sorry about that.”  Coulson held up a hand. 

“Until you woke up, I was pretty sure that they were some sort of friends of yours.”  Eyal continued, ignoring him.  “Didn’t the CIA and SHIELD use to work together?”

“It was something of an antagonistic relationship.”  Annie rolled her eyes.  “Even before the whole Nazi thing.”

“Again, not Nazis.”  Coulson interrupted.  “Look, I’m gonna... just put this away, alright?”  He lifted the pistol from Eyal’s head.  “I’m really not comfortable having it there.”

“Neither am I, oddly enough.”  Eyal murmured, visibly relaxing.

“So how did you find us?”  Annie asked.

“It wasn’t easy.”  Coulson admitted, holstering his pistol.  “You and your friend have a very thorough cover set up here, and you avoid surveillance exceptionally well.”

            “That doesn’t answer the question.”

            “We have an I.T. department.  A very, very good I.T. department.”  Coulson seemed to be enjoying a private joke.  “It helped that we were looking particularly for you.  If we’d just been searching for a random person, I doubt anything would have come up.”

            Annie’s brow furrowed.  “It seems like SHIELD should have bigger concerns right now than some missing CIA agent.”

            “The fact that we were given your name means that you’re much more than just ‘some missing CIA agent.’”  Coulson noted, pulling up a chair to the bedside.  “Plus, I’ve seen your file.”  He sat down.  “You’re... something of an unorthodox agent, Ms. Walker.”

            Annie shrugged, mind still working on ‘given your name.’  “I get the job done.”

            Coulson shook his head.  “You’re not in the CIA for America, Ms. Walker.  I’m pretty sure you love your country, but that’s not why you’ve gone rogue, put yourself in the dark from your own agency, and fostered relationships with agents from Mi6, KGB, and Mossad.”  He jerked his head at Eyal.

            “I keep in touch with a lot of my assets.”  Annie answered, hiding her agitation.  Coulson was talking about extremely classified ops from several different governments.  Exactly what kind of access did he have?  “It’s part of being a good agent.  You should know that.”

            “I do.”  Coulson nodded, studying her closely.  “But I think that they’re more than assets to you.

            “I can’t control what you think.”

            “Thank goodness.”  Coulson frowned.  “Sounds freaky.  Look, here’s what I think, Ms. Walker.”  Coulson’s smile was incredibly benign as he leaned forward.  “I think friends matter to you more than agencies.”

            “Relationships are what define us.”  Annie said carefully.

            “See, that.”  Coulson wagged a finger at her.  “That’s why I think we were given your name.  Because if you trust me, you won’t care about SHIELD.”

            “And why should I trust you?”

            Coulson smiled and spread his hands.  “I’m a really nice guy.”

            Annie stared at him for a long moment. 

            “I feel like you’re going to need more than that.”  Eyal murmured.

“Damn right he will.”  Annie  snapped, gaze fixed on Coulson.  “Even apart from the Nazi compsiracy, thing, you hunted me down in a foreign land, shot me with a tranquilizer, and held a gun to one of my best friend’s head.” 

            Coulson frowned as he considered this. “It... does sound pretty bad, when you say it like that.”  He agreed.  “In my defense, there weren’t a lot of options at the time.”

            Annie frowned.  “Yeah, heard that one before.”

            “Well...”  Coulson raised his eyebrows.  “At the moment, you don’t really have a choice.”

            “He has a point.”  Eyal noted.

            Annie shot him a glare.  “My point is, that’s not trust.”

            “At the moment.”  Coulson agreed.  “But we’re just starting to know each other .”

            He nodded to Agent Simmons, who was readying a needle. “Here’s what we’re going to do for now.  Agent Simmons is going to perform a procedure.  I’d explain it, but...”  He gave a shamefaced smile.  “...I... don’t know how to explain it.”  Standing up, he unholstered his weapon.  “You’ll be unconscious, but your friend Eyal here...”  He handed the weapon to a very-surprised Eyal,  “...can supervise to make sure we don’t... pump you full of alien blood or whatever.”  Again Simmons gave a little start, and again Annie got the feeling that there was more going on here.  “Are you comfortable with that?”

            Annie glanced at Eyal.  He was weighing the pistol in his hand thoughtfully.  His eyes met hers.

            He shrugged, as if to say _Well, why not?_

            Slowly, Annie nodded.

            Coulson nodded to Simmons, who briskly moved to the IV bags hanging by the bed and began to inject something into the solution.  “I’m going to ask you to count backwards from 10.”  She informed her.  “Mr. Eyal, as you’ve had medical training, would you care to assist?”

            “I’m... just going to duck out for this part.”  Coulson informed them, already moving to the door.  “Ms. Walker, by the time you wake up, we’ll be gone, but we’ll be back to check up, and to finish this whole ‘trust’ conversation.”  Another smile.  “We don’t know each other all that well, but... I think we’re really going to be great friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, like everything else, was orginally written around this time last year, when all the shows were in the off-season. Actually, the original version of this was written about a week before season 5 actually began, and followed a storyline of Annie being on a deep-cover assignment, which led to revelations that she was reluctant to talk about, hence the strange silence in the trailers.
> 
> Of course, it turned out Anni was never on any secret mission, and was struggling from a heart condition. Most of the other inconsistencies I haven't bothered to re-write, but this was a pretty major one, and I felt like the real story could work pretty well too. So I re-wrote it. We have another chapter before we'll return to the original form of this story.
> 
> I'm currently considering putting an annendum onto this, reflecting the Covert Affairs Series finale. But too soon to say whether I'll get that far.


	2. Assets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Annie continues to improve, Coulson's intentions become more clear. But the cryptic hints he keeps supplying aren't satisfying Annie's curiosity.

“You should have shot them.”

            “Annie…”  Eyal sighed from the kitchen. “…it’s been a week. Let it go.”

            “It’s not like you would have killed them.”  Annie insisted, examining the bullet she’d removed from the magazine.  “These bullets are some sort of toxin delivery system, they probably just knock you out.”

"Yes, I know.  You were shot with one.  You got knocked out.  I was there."  Eyal answered, crossing to the lounge area."Tell me, when should I have shot them?  When the girl had her elbows in your chest cavity? Or while I was sewing you up?  Or before all that happened, so you could still be gasping out your life in my spare bedroom instead of up and walking around.”

            “Being dramatic doesn’t suit you.”  Annie frowned at him.

            “I’m not.”  Eyal frowned back.  “I’m not a heart surgeon, you realize.  I know just enough to know how bad your condition is, but nowhere near enough to know how to fix it.”  He looked at her.  “That girl saved your life.”

            Annie gave him a look, but he just raised an eyebrow.  Grumbling, she set down the bullet.  “You’re still exaggerating.”  She admonished him.  “I’m not exactly walking right now.  More like... crawling.  I can scarcely make it from the bed to the couch without collapsing.”

            “I’d call that a recovery.”  A new voice cut in.

            Eyal and Annie whirled around—or rather, Eyal whirled and Annie twisted in her seat—guns at the ready.  Standing there was Coulson, looking for all the world as if he was dropping in to discuss tax forms, right down to the nondescript manila envelope he was carrying.

            “Hi.”  He gave a little wave, apparently undeterred by the two muzzles facing him.  “It’s me.  I said I’d be back to check up, remember?”  A small shrug.  “Well, I say that, but it’s actually...”

            “How the hell did you sneak up on us?”  Annie demanded.

            Coulson looked at her.  “I’m a spy.  Sneaking is kinda a thing...”

            “Yeah, I get that.  You’re a spy.  So am I.  So is Eyal.  We’re pretty good at hearing people sneak into places.”

            “There are at least three creaky floorboards you should have stepped on just to get to this room.”  Eyal elaborated.  “To say nothing of the rusty hinges on the front door.”

            “I came through the window, actually.”  Coulson gave a shamefaced smile.  “Less chance of nosy neighbors seeing us.  Plus, we landed on the roof, so…”

            “We?”

            The small english brunette girl from before poked her head into the room.  “Oh!  Hullo!  There you are then!”  She hovered around the doorframe, clearly not sharing her boss’s disregard for weaponry.  “I’m, ah, here for your checkup, Ms. Walker.  I brought a consultant along, I hope that’s all right...”

            Eyal and Annie shared a glance before holstering their weapons.  “Come on then.”  Annie said, unbuttoning her shirt.  “Let’s get this over with.”

#

            “So who’s the new guy?” said Annie, lying back on the bed, with several wires attached to her sternum, “I make it a point to know the people I’m working with.”

            “We’re not working _with_ you.”  The consultant—an unshaven man in a rock-band T-shirt and jeans—answered, not taking his eyes off the charts.  “We’re working _on_ you.  ‘With’ implies some sort of level of cooperation, which would require some smidgen of medical knowledge, which clearly you do not have.” 

            Simmons gave a slightly strained smile.  “Dr. House is one of the foremost experts in the medical community.”  She assured her in an undertone.  “He’ll have you right as rain in no time.”

            “So… friends?”  Coulson asked from the door.

            “Friends don’t break into each other’s house and sneak up on them.”  Eyal retorted from his position on the wall.

            “Really?”  Coulson raised a quizzical eyebrow.  “My friends do it all the time.”

            Annie gave a small snort despite herself.   She _had_ , actually, broken into Eyal’s house when seeking him out.

            “Perhaps I’ve been hanging out with the wrong sort of people.”  Coulson mused.  “I’ll keep in mind for next time.  Anything else?”

            Annie shifted slightly to look at Coulson.  “What’s your angle here?”  Coulson opened his mouth and she cut him off.  “We’re all spies here.  We all know how this work.  No agency does this stuff for kicks, so let’s just cut to the chase.  Okay?  Now what’s your angle here?”

            Coulson grinned.  “Inter-agency cooperation.”

            “Your entire institution was dissolved and your assets frozen.  You’re not an agency.”  Annie countered.  “Actually...”  her brow furrowed and she half-sat up.  “What are you supposed to be?”

            Coulson shrugged.  “Vigilante world peacekeeping force?”

            “Concerned third party?”  Simmons offered.

            “Doctors Without Borders?”  Eyal snarked.

            “Globetrotters?”  Dr. House sneered.

            “Whatever our status, it doesn’t mean we can’t be useful.”  Coulson said, sending Dr. House a dry look.  “The CIA needs folks like us to help with all the SHIELD data they got dumped on them, to say nothing of all the old SHIELD cases.”

            “And in return, you want me to feed you classified intel.”

            “Relevant intel.  Classified only in the sense that everything the CIA has is classified.”  Coulson amended.  “My people don’t have direct access to the databases we used to.  We’re not even up to date on the current terror watch list.”

            Annie raised an eyebrow.  “What about that ‘really good IT department’ you were bragging about?”

            Coulson’s face changed, subtly.  “I never said we couldn’t get it.  I just said we didn’t have direct access.”

            “Perfect.”  Annie said, sinking back onto the bed.

            “Missing the point, anyway.”  Coulson waved the concern away.  “This is about cooperation.  SHIELD used to just take whatever it wanted and deal out what tidbits it thought appropriate to the other agencies.” 

            Eyal looked at Annie with a raised eyebrow.  “The ‘antagonistic relationship, eh?”  She gave a little nod.

“We think that may have been part of the problem.  With no agency watching our watchmen, we got a little... above ourselves, distanced from the world.”  Coulson shrugged.  “So we’re going for a more... open approach.”

“Convenient that now that your agency’s collapsed, you’re suddenly all about cooperation.”  Annie’s gaze was level.

  “We have mutual goals.”  Coulson insisted.  “There’s no reason why we can’t work with other agencies.  Not just the CIA, either.”  He gave Eyal a significant look.

            Eyal caught it.  “Oh, no way.  What makes you think I’d associate with any group connected, however distantly, with Nazis?”

            “I’d repeat how we’re not Nazis, but I don’t think that would help.”  Coulson frowned.  He reached into a suitcase sitting on the bedside table and produced two folders.  “That’s why  I brought these.”  He tossed one to Eyal and dropped another in Annie’s lap.

            “What are these?”  Annie asked, leafing through her folder.  It seemed to be all sorts of information on an engineering student at the local University.

            “Figure it out.”  Coulson shrugged.  “You’re spies.”

* * *

 

            Coulson came back about a month later, and he came alone.  He came, as before, through the window, and the second he stepped through it Eyal shoved him against the wall and brought a gun up under his chin.

            “How. Did. You. Know.”  He growled.

            Coulson gave a puzzled smile.  “Ah, I think I’m going to need some context...”

            “The files you gave us.”  Annie walked up behind Eyal, her own gun trained on Coulson.  “We looked into them alright—those two students at Hebrew University turned out to be building some sort of nerve gas bomb in their basement.  Mossad took them down.”

            “Good to hear.”  Coulson answered.  “So... you’re welcome?”

            “What we’re curious is how the hell you knew about that.”  Annie clicked the action back on her gun.

            “Those students had no connection to anyone.  Not ISIS, no one.” Eyal growled.  “Mossad had no reason whatsoever to investigate them,  I had to come up with an extended cover story about an inside source just to tell my superiors about the bomb.”

            “Okay…”  Coulson said, expression still confused. 

            “And now,”  Eyal cocked his pistol, “my superiors are pressing me to find out my source’s connection to these do-it-yourself terrorists, and if there’s a new terror agency in business.”

            “Which we’re a little curious about ourselves.”  Annie added.

            “I get that.  But see, here’s the problem.”  Coulson frowned, seemingly apathetic to the gun still digging into his throat.  “I only knew they were threats, not how or why. We didn’t have the resources to investigate, so we thought you might like a taste.”

            “How did you know they were threats?”

            Coulson gave a disarming smile.  “I’m not giving you all our intelligence secrets, Ms. Walker.  We have sources.  Let’s leave it at that.  In any case...”  He shrugged.  “I take it they were helpful?”

            Eyal and Annie looked at each other.  It was clear this was a conversation they’d had several times before.  Slowly, they lowered their weapons.

            “To be clear, we still don’t trust you.”  Eyal stated.

            “We’ve just determined that you’re useful.”  Annie nodded.

            “Good enough, I suppose.”  Coulson shrugged, rubbing his neck.  “Being useful is our main goal, right now.  Hoping that if we give you guys enough golden eggs, you might be less inclined to kill the goose and more inclined to keep feeding it.”

            “And you dropped by to give us some more ‘golden eggs?’”  Eyal questioned, raising his eyebrows.        

            “Partly.”  Coulson nodded.  “That, and to give you these.”  He took a bottle of pills from his coat. “Agent Simmons says to keep taking these as long as the symptoms persist.  They’re only a temporary measure, though…”  He eyed her with concern.  “…she advises that you avoid any strenuous exercise.  Retire, take a desk job, something like that.”

            “Noted.”  Annie caught the bottle as he tossed it to her.  “And what else?”

            “I take it you’re going to ignore that?”  Coulson raised his eyebrows. 

            “What business is it of yours?”

            “Yes, she is.”  Eyal growled, rolling his eyes.

            Coulson’s mouth tightened, but he drew a small flash drive from his pocket.  “Here’s my golden egg for the day.  SHIELD data on Sharon Carter.”

            Annie’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.  “Who?”

            “Former SHIELD agent.  Now working for the CIA.”  Coulson’s face gave an odd twinge that Annie couldn’t completely identify.  “Specifically, your division.”

            “So... She’s Hydra?”  Annie weighted the flash drive in her hand.  “I doubt you’d give me this if she was one of yours.”

            “Probably not.”  Coulson nodded.  “You’re right in that she’s not one of ours.  I’ll leave it up to you to find out whether she’s Hydra or not.”

            Annie raised her eyebrows.  “Excuse me?”

            “If there’s a Hydra plant in the CIA, it’s bad news for both you.”  Coulson clarified.  “If that Hydra plant is a former SHIELD member, that’s bad news for me.  You need to know if Carter can be trusted.  I’d like you to know.”  He spread his hands.  “Mutual benefit.”

            Annie pocketed the drive with a grunt of annoyance.  “I’ll make my own conclusions about Agent Carter.  Whether I’ll share those with you is another question.”

            “Fair enough.”  Coulson paused.  “One last thing…  The  CIA has begun working with a private security firm recently, outsourcing their surveillance feeds and a lot of their ops.”

            “Mossad’s picked up some chatter of that nature.”  Eyal nodded.  “It’s not a great secret—private security firms are the go-to supplement of many modern countries.  Stark, for instance.”

            “It’s also not a great idea.”  Coulson frowned.  “Having someone watch the watchmen is not always as comforting as it sounds.”

            “Says the man from the organization with the least amount of oversight ever.”  Annie noted.

            “Not sure if you were familiar with Fury’s leadership style.”  Coulson’s frown was still in place.  “It doesn’t matter—the point stands.  Half of SHIELD’s job was to watch the watchmen of other nations, and in retrospect that turned out pretty badly.”  Standing, he moved back toward the window. 

            “No ‘golden egg’ to dish out in regards to that?”  Annie called.

            “No, Ms. Walker.”  He smiled.  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.  You’ll need to find out for yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated adding Dr. House, because sticking too many fandoms in a story can get disorienting. I minimized it as much as possible. 
> 
> Again, when I wrote this in the off season, I had heard about McQuaid and McQuaid Securities. In my opinion, it was pretty obvious they were up to something (which is still my opinion, but since the series is canceled I guess we'll never know.) I wanted to hint at that in the last bit here, but I wanted also to leave it ambiguous, since he's also sort-of talking about Decima Technologies, the surveillance conglomerate working with the CIA in Person of Interest, another part of this series. So that's what Coulson's last warning is about.
> 
> EDIT: I should note that I'm very unfamiliar with the character of Eyal, so I really had to guess in terms of what writing him sounded like.
> 
> Also: "Hebrew University" is not just me being lazy and unoriginal. That's actually the name of the leading school in Jerusalem.


	3. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having returned to the CIA and barely survived the catastrophic attack in Chicago, Annie is given a temporary assignment--investigating new CIA operative Sharon Carter.

 

            “Your target.”  Calder Michaels slid a picture of a familiar-looking blonde across the table to her.  “Sharon Carter, the new girl here.  She’s a former SHIELD agent.”

            “You think she’s connected to the Chicago bombing?”  Annie said, glancing up at the man.

            “Unlikely.”  Calder shook his head.  “She’s only been in the agency for a month or so.  Enough time to learn the protocols necessary for Chicago, yes, but she’s too new—too obvious.  No spy would risk an attack so soon after joining the agency.”

Annie nodded as she scanned the file, her mind already working at top speed.  It simply wasn’t possible for Coulson to have known she would be assigned to this case.  Calder wouldn’t have even known she’d be available for this until a week ago. Still...“Are we sure she’s not in communication with... her old bosses?  Or anyone from her past agency?”  Annie asked, carefully.          

“We’ve had her under surveillance since day one.”  Calder answered.  “If she is, the agents following her haven’t noticed.  But maybe she’s just that good.”

Annie frowned and closed the file.  “So basically, there’s no reason to suspect she’s connected with the Chicago bombing.”

“We’re following every possible avenue on this one, Annie.”  Calder’s tone was level and his eyes were hard.  “No stone unturned.”

“I understand that and I agree.”  Annie nodded.  “But I was under the impression that you wanted—and needed—me on point for this investigation.”

“I do and I do.”  Calder’s gaze was calculating, and Annie could tell he knew what was coming.

“So why are you sending me on this longshot?”  Annie tapped the picture meaningfully.  “Is this still about your ‘questions’ on my four month vacation?”

Calder’s eyes grew even harder.  “Make no mistake, you and I are not finished discussing that particular ‘vacation,’ Walker.”  He snapped.  “I was not and I am not pleased with you apparently assuming I’m stupid enough not to tell when you’re lying to me.  But if you think that I’m the particular brand of petty that would deny justice to twenty good agents blown apart in their own safehouse...”  He didn’t finish the sentence. 

Annie winced internally, but carefully hid it.  “So what IS this about?”

“I want you on the Chicago task force, and you’ll be on it.”  Calder answered.  “But there are some protocols to follow here.  Among other things, anyone associated with the Chicago incident has to undergo a thorough vetting.”

Annie blinked.  “I’m sorry?”

“Let me put it this way.”  Calder cocked his head on one side.  “What would be your first thought regarding the only agent to survive a savage, well-planned bombing on one of our offices?  The only agent to conveniently be outside the building when the bomb went off?  Particularly if that agent was fresh from an unsanctioned 4-month hiatus which she gave a most unsatisfying account of.”

“So this IS about you being petty.”

“This is about me following protocols so I don’t have to explain to the DCS or to Congress that I don’t bother investigating my friends.”  Calder answered.  “Do I think you had anything to do with Chicago?  No, but that doesn’t change a damn thing about what needs to be done.  Same thing with Agent Carter.”  He sat back and gestured to indicate the briefing was over.  “Sift through her life, Annie.  And get your affairs in order, because there will be plenty of people doing the same thing to you.”

* * *

 

            Following Sharon Carter started off fairly easily.  Each day after work, she went out to eat—the restaurants varied but she seemed to favor chicken alfredo—then walked along the national mall and visited one of the capital’s war memorials.  Usually, it was the WWII monument, but occasionally she stopped by the Korean and Vietnam memorials too.  Then she would go straight home.  The bugs Annie and Aggie had planted in her apartment indicated that she spent quiet evenings reading a book.

            “It’s sorta weird she’s not listening to any music or anything.”  Annie observed, binoculars to her eyes, as they watched from the apartment across the street.

            “Yeah.”  Aggie nodded, headphones about his ears and a puzzled frown on his face.  “She could hardly be masking any discussions or transmissions with fake silence, though.”

            “Unless SHIELD has some sound-dampening gadget we don’t know about.”  Annie frowned through the binoculars at the girl.  “By the way,”  She said, glancing up, “Any hits on that name I asked you to run?”

            “Phil Coulson?  A few. None that connect to Sharon Carter, though.”  Auggie answered.  “And nothing from SHIELD.”

            “Nothing?”  Annie blinked at him.

            “I’m still working my way through all the SHIELD data.”  Auggie pointed out.  “There’s a lot of it, you realize.  I’ve been at it for several months and I still haven’t gotten further than the past year and a half.” 

            Annie returned to her binoculars, her mind racing.  “Then what did you find?”

            “Well it’s kind of a common name.”  Auggie deadpanned.  “But the most interesting hits were some news articles from a New Mexico town about a federal team in the region, and also a plaque from Stark Tower that was added after the Battle of New York... ‘In memory of the sacrifice of Phil Coulson.’”

            “Interesting.”  A famous name... maybe her visitor had chosen it out of nostalgia, or in hopes she would recognize it?  “Any elaboration on that?  Press releases from Stark or anything?”

            “No, actually.  That’s what made it so interesting, Stark never made any sort of formal announcement about the plaque.  No fanfare at all.”

            “That is weird.”  Annie agreed.

            “Yeah.  Especially if the other rumors are true... apparently the next tower Stark’s building, over in Oregon, is supposed to be called ‘Coulson Tower.’”  Auggie gave a shake of his head.  “Whoever the guy is, he clearly meant a lot to Stark.”  He gave an inquisitive tilt of his head toward Annie.  “Don’t suppose you could tell me where you heard the name?”

            “Came up during my little sabbatical.”  Annie hated how easily she could lie to her friends these days.  “Wasn’t a credible or immediate problem, so I didn’t pursue it, but I made a note to check up on the name.”

            “Like the flash drive you had me take apart?”

            Annie winced.  Auggie didn’t see it, but he could read a silence like few people.  “Annie, you like your secrets, you always have.  Goodness knows I’ve kept a few stories of my own close to the chest, but if I’m supposed to be helping you as your handler, you need to tell me what I’m handling.”

            He was right, and Annie knew he was right.  But it didn’t change the fact that there were some things that she couldn’t explain to Auggie.  Not yet, anyway.

            So she went for a compromise.

            “It was... toward the end.”  She hedged.  “I’d been laying low, de-stressing and figuring some stuff out when I overheard these two guys talking in a bar.  They mentioned the name Coulson, SHIELD, and something about the CIA.”  She sighed at the way Auggie’s brow furrowed.  “I wouldn’t have noticed, except they were speaking in a form of Italian.  I got the gist, but not details.”

            “And the flash drive?”

            “Palmed it off one of them as he was leaving.”  Annie felt another twist at how easily lying came to her.  “No info of value that I could find, but I thought you might be able to dig up something more."  She shrugged.  "The whole thing sort of woke me up and brought me back to the agency double time.”

            “I see.”  Auggie said, and Annie got the feeling he didn’t entirely believe her.  But he simply shrugged and turned back to his computer.  “Calder still has me sorting and cataloguing the SHIELD data.  If he comes up in there, I’ll let you know.”  He promised.

* * *

 

            On the weekend, Annie followed the blonde around town.  The woman dropped off laundry, stopped at a coffee shop,  dropped by a veterans rest home—Annie made a mental note to check up on “Peggy Carter” later—ate lunch, went shopping, picked up her laundry, dropped it off at the house, went to another coffee-shop...

            It was the third coffee-shop that finally did it for Annie.  She was sitting at a cafe across the street, watching her target sip coffee nonchalantly at a window seat.

            “This is ridiculous.”  She said suddenly, standing to her feet.  “Auggie, I’m going in.”

            _“What?  Annie, are you sure that’s...”_

            But Annie was already walking across the street.  She saw Carter glance up at her, but her eyes passed on without seeming to take any particular note of the agent.  Annie snorted and pushed open the door.

            “ _I hope you know what you’re doing here, Annie.”_   Auggie sounded genuinely nervous.

            Carter looked up as Annie sat down across from her.  “...Can I help you?”

            “This is a waste of time for both of us.”  Annie said.  “No one loves coffee this much, and no one’s life is this boring.  Now I don’t know when you made me or my partner, but I know a snow job when I see one.  Doing routine errands all day?  Walking slowly, taking public transit everywhere?  Always sitting by a window?  It’s like you want to be followed.”

            Carter’s mouth twisted.

            “So.”  Annie shrugged.  “I figure I might as well get some good intel out of it.  What gave me away?  That waiting line at the store?  Last night at the diner?  Some high-tech SHIELD gadget you’ve got?”

            Carter set down her coffee mug carefully.  “Actually, I didn’t know you were tailing me.”  She answered.

            “Seriously?”  Annie raised her eyebrows.  “Have a bit more respect for my intelligence than that.”

            “I didn’t.”  Carter insisted.  “You’re pretty good, for CIA.  Certainly better than the guys they had last week.  I did notice that the vacant apartment across from my place finally got a renter, though.”  Leaning back, Carter shrugged.  “But I didn’t need to see you.  I pretty much expected to be under surveillance once I joined the CIA.”  She considered this a moment.  “I would have been insulted if I wasn’t, honestly.”

            _“She’s got a point.”_ Auggie conceded.

            “Even after the guys from last week disappeared?”

            Again Carter shrugged.  “It’s routine in SHIELD to keep surveillance on new agents for two months, and I’m pretty sure that the CIA is at least that careful about ex-Nazis.”  There was a trace of bitterness to the last words.

            _“Ouch.  Girl’s got a sore spot.”_   Auggie noted.

            Annie smiled understandingly.  “Still attached to the old division, aren’t you?”

            Carter looked away, whether from anger or embarrassment, Annie couldn’t tell.  “My aunt was one of SHIELD’s founders, so yeah, you could say it’s personal.  She’s been really upset about how the division’s name has been dragged through the mud, recently... some commentators have even been suggesting that she was Hydra and contributed to Cap’s ‘death.’”  Her lip curled.

            That made Annie genuinely wince.  “Commentators aren’t known for their intelligence.”  She said, hoping to sound conciliatory.

            “The thing is, most of SHIELD wasn’t Hydra.”  Carter crossed her arms, still staring out the window.  “Just  a minority of highly placed and highly skilled agents who caught us with our pants down.  That whole mess at the Triskelion?  A lot of good SHIELD agents died trying to keep those helicarriers from taking off.”  A sigh.  “And now a whole lot more are tied up in court hearings or hamstringed in desk jobs while Hydra has the run of the world.”

            Annie nodded.  “What about Agent Coulson?”

            Carter looked back at her in surprise.  “What about him?”

            _“Have I mentioned this is a bad idea?”_   Auggie asked.

            “We came across his name recently in our intel.”  Annie answered.  “Did you know him?”

            Carter laughed a little at that.  “Agent Coulson?  Not really.  He was level 8, significantly above my pay grade.  I met him once.”  She paused.  “I think.  It was when Fury picked me for Cap’s security detail.  There was a balding middle-aged guy standing in the corner, and after Fury was done talking to me he shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome to the team.’”

            “So he was close to the director of SHIELD?”  Annie asked.  The description matched up with the man she’d met, but there had to be plenty of balding middle-aged men out there.

            This time, Carter almost snorted.  “That’s an understatement.  Coulson was something of a legend in SHIELD... Fury’s ‘one good eye,’ they called him.  He was attached to the Avengers Initiative and half-a-dozen other of Fury’s pet projects.”

            Annie blinked rapidly.  “Coulson was an Avenger?”

            “ _This guy was a superhero?”_   Auggie questioned, nearly at the same time.

            Carter seemed puzzled, then her face cleared.  “Oh, no, no.  He was the liason, responsible for bringing them in.  He was in charge of the First Contact scenario in New Mexico and was later attached to Captain America’s crew.”

            _“That’s what the news articles from New Mexico were about.”_   Auggie sounded contemplative.  _“I should have made that connection.”_

            “So... Hydra?  Or SHIELD?”

            Carter shrugged.   “Who knows?  I mean, he had a reputation for being a softie completely devoted to SHIELD’s mission, and people said he was one of the few folks Fury actually trusted, but...”

            “...that could also have been said of Alexander Pierce.”  Annie finished wryly.  She was starting to see the difficulty with this op.  Then something hit her.  “You keep saying ‘had’, ‘was’, ‘called.’  Did... something happen?”

            That earned her a very strange look.  “You don’t know?”  Annie just stared back.  Carter gave a half-laugh and muttered something under her breath.

            _“I heard that.”_ Auggie, whose hearing was of course much better, sounded vaguely amused.

            “Agent Coulson died.”  Carter said, more loudly.  “Shortly before the battle of New York.  The details were... sketchy.  Some folks said he took a bullet in an alley somewhere, others that he was killed testing some protoype for Fury, others that he was stabbed in the chest by a Norse god.”

            Annie arched an eyebrow.

            “Some jobs at SHIELD were more interesting than others.”  Carter shrugged.

            “Sounds like it.”  Annie nodded, her face carefully blank.

            “ _Actually the Norse god thing makes sense.”_   Auggie spoke up.  _“At least one is supposed to have been involved in New York.  It would explain why Stark felt so strongly about Coulson... the man died trying to hold them off.”_   A little snort came through the earpiece.  _“Hey Annie.  You think the CIA’s supposed to handle Norse gods now that SHIELD isn’t around?”_

            “Strange you bring Coulson up.”  Carter mentioned, before Annie could devote much thought to Auggie’s question.  “You say his name popped up in intel recently?  How recently?  In connection with what?”

            Annie was very conscious of Auggie on the other side of her earpiece.  “A few weeks ago.  As for the connection, I’m afraid I can’t say.”

            “So it’s a relevant matter.  Connected to something current, ongoing.”  Carter looked pensive.    She started to say something, hesitated, then said, “About... three weeks before everything at SHIELD...”  She gestured.  “...went pear-shaped, I heard a rumor.  People were saying Coulson was back.”

            Annie raised an eyebrow.  “As in, back from the dead?”

            _“Sounds like you have a lot in common with this guy.”_

            “Is that normal in SHIELD?”  Annie asked.

            “What, you mean people rising up from the grave?”  Carter’s mouth quirked in a sardonic smile.  “No.  If you mean agents’ deaths being faked so they could lead private ghost op programs independently of SHIELD, then it really depends on who you believe.  Some people took Fury at face value, others said every single agent who’d ever ‘died’ was actually just transferred into a take-your-pick secret organization answering only to Fury.  SWORD, ARMOR, you name it.”

            “Clever titles.”

            A shrug.  “No one ever accused conspiracy theorists of being original.”  Carter sighed.  “Probably the truth was somwhere in the middle.  Fury did like to compartamentalize things, and he wasn’t big on sharing control with the World Council.”

            “Funny how that worked out for him.”  Annie noted.

            She got a glare in answer.  “Whatever else you hear, Fury had nothing to do with Hydra.  Why do you think he was the first casualty in the takeover?  His way of... handling things likely made it harder for Hydra to extend control.”

            “And easier to escape notice.”  Annie shook her head and reminded herself that this was not the point.  “And Coulson?”

            Carter was still glaring, but she too seemed willing to drop the subject.  “The details surrounding his death were always very sketchy.  But at the same time, they were TOO sketchy.  If it was a cover-up, it was a very sloppy cover-up.”

            “Bottom line, you don’t know.”

            “Bottom line.”  Carter nodded.

            Annie considered this a moment.  “Come on.”  She said, standing up.

            “Excuse me?”  Carter quirked an eyebrow.

            “You going to sit here filling your bladder all day, or are you going to do some real spy work?”  Annie asked.

            “ _Annie, what are you doing_?”   Auggie’s voice had a mixture of dread and resignation.

            Carter’s brow wrinkled in confusion, but  she got up and followed Annie out of the coffeeshop.  The two of them crossed the street, straight to a black pest-control van on the far side.  Annie threw the doors open, and there was Auggie, sitting at a listening station.

            Slowly, he removed the headphones, and turned to face them, eyes staring sightlessly down the street.  “Agent Carter.”  He nodded.  “Annie, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

            “Agent Anderson?”  Carter’s eyes were round.   “And you’re Annie?  As in Annie Walker?  What kind of crazy badass does the CIA think I am?”

            “This tailing job is a waste of time.”  Annie snorted, climbing into the van and motioning to Carter to follow.  “If we’re being asked to vet Agent Carter here, we might as well do it by putting her SHIELD smarts to good use.”

            “Meaning what?”  Auggie asked, brow furrowed.  Carter had a similarly confused expression.

            Annie was already climbing into the driver’s seat.  “We’re going to dig up a grave.”

 

* * *

 

            “The path of the righteous man...”  Annie mused.  “Ezekiel 25:17”

            Auggie paused in mid-step, contemplating.  “That’s not a real verse.”  He announced.  “Carter, is that some sort of SHIELD pass code or something?”

            “Not so far as I know.”  Carter was picking her way among the gravestones surrounding Fury’s.  “Fury had it on a plaque in his office.... ‘you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you’ or somesuch.  Maybe it unlocks some secret room in a library somewhere, but if so, I never ran across it.  Fury liked people to ask about it, I know that much.  He’d just smile and say it was an old story.”

            “Ah.”  Auggie nodded.  “Sounds like an enigmatic bastard.”

            “Oh, you have NO idea.”  Carter snorted. 

"Is that why you have no idea where Coulson's grave actually is?"  Annie took the moment to interject.

            “I told you.”  Carter shot back.  “Everything surrounding his death was sketchy, funeral arrangements included.  It’s not like I personally knew him.  Could you tell me where every CIA agent was buried?”  Sighing, she continued.  “But he and Fury were close, so it's pretty likely his grave is around here somewhere.  Let’s see... Jones, Dugan... here!  Here it is.  Coulson.”

            Annie and Auggie went over to where Carter was kneeling beside a plain-looking tombstone.  It read simply, “Phillip Coulson,” and below that the dates, “1964-2012”

            “Nothing else?”  Auggie asked, as Annie read off the words on the stone.  “No ‘in the line of duty,’ or ‘beloved brother’ or anything like that?”

            “He probably didn’t have any family.”  Carter was staring at the stone with a curious expression.  “SHIELD tends to attract a certain sort of... individual.”

            Annie glanced at her but said nothing.

            “The ground here smells... fresh.”  Auggie said, sniffing.  Carefully, he knelt and felt at the earth.

            Annie knelt beside him.  “This turf has just been laid down.”  She noted.  “Someone must have dug up this grave recently.”  She glanced up at Carter.  “Is that normal?”

            Carter sent her a look.  “You’re kidding, right?”

            “Well, we don’t know.”  Auggie answered drily.  ‘SHIELD might have had some kind of Frankenstein project pending.”  He stood to his feet.  “Well, if it wasn’t SHIELD, we should be able to find a report of whoever it was.”

* * *

 

            “Thanks.”  Auggie tapped the side of his headset to end the call.  “All right.  Turns out the police were called to the cemetery a month or so ago for a grave robbery.”

            “Grave robbery.” 

            “Yeah, the investigating detective thought it was a real hoot.”  Auggie nodded.  “Apparently some guy found the grave dug up and the casket opened and empty.”

            “Did SHIELD have a vampire program?” Annie asked.

            “Not that Coulson was connected to.”  Carter sighed.  She seemed to be getting sick of all the SHIELD jokes.

            “The witness did say he saw someone climbing out of the grave as he approached.”  Auggie added.   “But it wasn’t Phil Coulson.  It was a woman.  He made this sketch for the authorities.”  A few clicks, and the image came up on the screen.

Annie didn't recognize her.  Glancing over at Carter, she asked, “Anybody you know?” 

            Carter started.  “That’s...”  She leaned in for a better look.  “Melinda May.  The Calvary.”

            Annie glanced over at her.  The woman’s tone was shocked, with maybe a touch of awe.  “Pardon?”

            Shaking off whatever nostalgia had seized her, Carter looked up at Annie.  “She used to be in operations.  Something of a legend.  If a team needed rescuing, or if they really wanted to hit a place hard, they’d send in ‘the Calvary.’”  She gestured at the picture.  “I mean, I’m not bad in operations myself, but May... she was up there with Barton and Romanov.”

            “You say ‘used to be?’”  Auggie asked.

            “She retired to a desk job.  Some time after I joined up.”

            “Hydra?  SHIELD?”  Annie asked.

            “Again, that sort of thing is anyone’s guess.”  Carter shrugged.  “But I can’t see a Hydra agent giving up an operations role for a menial bureaucratic job like the one she took.”

            “Neither of which answers what she was doing digging up Coulson’s grave and stealing his body.”

            “Actually that’s part of what the detective found so funny.”  Auggie cut in.  “They closed the case because analysis revealed no one had ever been in that coffin.  Your girl dug up an empty casket.”

            “Damn it.”  Carter shook her head.  “I should have known.  I really should have known.” 

            Annie was pretty sure she knew what the ex-SHIELD agent was going to say.  “Coulson never died at all, did he?”

            “Looks like it.”  Carter had a visibly annoyed expression.  “I still don’t understand the lousy false cover, but... maybe it was a reverse-psychology thing.” 

            “Guess we have another name to add to the watch list.”  Auggie smiled ruefully.

            Carter gave a reluctant nod.  “For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure this means Coulson isn’t Hydra.”  She noted.  “All this dodgy stuff with false covers and empty coffins has Fury’s fingers all over it.  And there’s no way Fury would have done this much for someone he didn’t absolutely trust.”

            Annie nodded.  “And, for what it’s worth, I’m now pretty sure you aren’t either.”  She gave Carter a smile.  “You’ve been more than forthcoming with info and you’ve helped us nose down every lead in this case.”

            “Good to be trusted again.”  Carter smiled back.

            “I trust you.  Doesn’t mean the CIA will.”  Annie noted.  “But for now...”  She held out her hand, “...welcome to the team.”


	4. Strange Bedfellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Coulson have one last talk

It was maybe a week after that, after the whole mess in South America and her getting suspended and put on desk duty, that Annie came home to find Coulson, sitting in her living room.

            “Most people call before showing up.”  She said, stalking past him to the kitchen.

            “I’m not most people.”  Coulson shrugged. 

            “Clearly.  How’d you like being dead?”  Annie grabbed two beers and tossed one to Coulson.

            “Honestly, I don’t remember much of it.  I gather that was rather the point.”  Coulson caught the beer but did not open it.  “Generally, being dead doesn’t involve a lot of action.”

            “Speak for yourself.”  Annie grinned.  “I got a LOT done while I was dead.”

Coulson’s brow furrowed.  “Admittedly I’m guessing here, but I’m pretty sure our deaths were wildly different.”  He arched an eyebrow at her as she sat down.  “How’s agent Carter?”

            “On your side, so far as I can tell. Whether or not the both of you are Hydra remains to be seen.”  Annie shrugged.

            “Really?  I thought you said you trusted her.”

            Annie glanced at him sharply.  “And how did you know that?”

            Coulson shrugged and smiled.

            Shaking her head, Annie downed her own beer.  “There was nothing to be gained from keeping her an enemy.  Better to make her think she’s fooled me.  Might let her guard down.  Or might turn out to be genuinely honest.”  Annie shrugged.  “Who knows.  Going on instincts, I trust her, but instincts don’t make good security clearances.”

            “And what do your instincts say about me?”  Coulson raised his eyebrows.

            Annie looked at him.  “You’re friendly enough.  And you seem very genuine.  And I can’t deny you’ve been a useful asset.”

            “None of those sound very instinctive.”  Coulson pointed out.

            A roll of the eyes.  “Fine.  Then my instincts say you’re to be trusted.”

            A grin crept up Coulson’s face.  “Sure you’re not just saying that because there’s nothing to be gained from keeping me an enemy?”

            Annie gave a sweet smile in return.  “If you’re not going to believe what I say, why did you even ask?”  She sipped her beer.  “Besides, my instincts say McQuaid’s a decent guy too, and I gathered you don’t like him.”

            “McQuaid himself might be decent, I don’t know.”  Coulson shrugged.  “His company, though... they’re up to something.”

            “According to the Agency, _you’re_ up to something.”  Annie pointed out.

            “Fair enough.”  Coulson smiled.  “In any case, I think we’ve proven that we’re a useful resource, and that our help thus far has been... useful.”

“Useful, sure.  But I try not to lean too hard on my outside sources.”  Annie gave him a tight grin.  “Just tends to be unwise.  I’m glad to have you guys as a backup, but don’t expect any favors from me.  For all intents and purposes, I’m still a girl for the Agency.”

“But the Agency’s cut you out,”  pressed Coulson, leaning forward.  “Are you sure you wouldn’t want an agency in your corner, so long as you’re sidelined?”

            “I’m not sidelined.”  Annie raised a hand.  “Just out of the field.  I’m still involved, just...”  she kicked at the end table, “...bored to tears.”

            “Can’t help with the boredom, I’m afraid.”  Coulson shook his head.  “Well, I mean, if you’re REALLY bored you could always steal information from the CIA for me, but I feel you might object to that.”

            “Don’t you get info from the CIA already?”

            “Just one of the SHIELD hunters the Agency is always siccing on us.  Old friend of mine.  Keeps me up to date on who the good agents and who the bad agents are.”  Coulson glanced at the pictures on the wall.

            “Oh really?  And which am I?”

            “Good.”  Coulson blinked and amended that, “As in, capable-good, not friendly-to-SHIELD-good.  And by the way, it’s not just him saying that, that’s a pretty well-known fact across the intelligence community.”

“That’s not good.”  Annie frowned.  “Being well-known is something you try to avoid in this sort of job.  Tends to lead to an early retirement plan.”

Coulson looked at her significantly.  “You plan to retire?”

Annie stopped and looked at him.  It was a simple enough question, but they both knew it had a hugely complex answer.  Spies didn’t retire.  At best, they led a watchful life constantly glancing over their shoulder at an invisible job in some anonymous town, or else devoted their declining years to administering the missions they could no longer run, like Joan and Arthur.  At worst, they ended in a jail cell or face down in a Viennese gutter.

But Annie smiled and gave a careless shrug.  “Too young to plan for retirement yet.”  She answered lightly.  “Some wild ideas here and there...” she bit back a thought about a suggestion Auggie had once made about a Carribean island, “...but nothing concrete yet.” Apart from the fake passports and illegal firearm stashed in her safe at home.

Coulson nodded as if he believed her. “Take it from someone who’s been around the spy game longer than you have.”  His gentle smile robbed the words of any patronization.  “Generally, spy stories end with the hero-slash-heroine on the run from their own agency, until they fake their death so they can live the rest of their days in some anonymous far-off locale.”

“Did that already.”  Annie nodded.  “Came back from it.”

“But some day you might not want to.”  Coulson suggested.  “Some day you might find that you have no reason to go back—or more likely—that your friends are better off believing you’re dead.”

“Where I absorb the blame for something and ‘take one for the company?’”  Annie gave an odd smile.  “It seems unlikely, but... I can think of worse endings.  But why should it make a difference to you?”

Coulson shrugged, standing.  “Well, if you ‘died’ and for some reason still wanted to stay in the spy game... though I’m sure you’d have no lack of opportunities—any foreign intelligence agency would jump to obtain someone with your connections—I guess I’d just... like to add SHIELD to the list of potential employers.”

“Really?”  Annie wrinkled her nose.  “A down-and-out spy agency without funding and with dubious ties to a Nazi conspiracy?  What possible reason would I have for joining?”

            Coulson smiled.  “Well, we wouldn’t be in direct competition with the CIA, for one.  We’d still be serving America’s security, if not exclusively.  Smaller probability of having to shoot one of your old friends.  And then there’s the fact that you now know the new director.”

Annie looked at him, uncomprehending at first, before a flash of understanding lit up her face.

Coulson moved toward the door.  “Keep it in mind.  Work with Agent Carter, get to know her and what SHIELD used to be, keep tabs on us and see what we’re building SHIELD into.  And if you decide you want to be a part of shaping that... give us a call.”

            “I’ll keep you in my contacts.”  Annie smiled.  “Anything further?”

            “Just one.”  Coulson paused in the doorway and looked at her with something akin to concern.  “Do your friends know about your... condition?”

            Slowly, Annie’s head sank back down, and she stared at the glass in her hand.  “You know I haven’t told them.”  She answered. “They’d just take it the wrong way.”

“Give them a try.”  Coulson suggested.  “They’re spies, after all—death is one of the nicer things they deal with.  And trust me, the last thing you want is to be dying slumped against a bulkhead while you think of all the things you never said.”

“You would know.”  Annie smiled wanly.   “See you later, Phil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I think I will write that last chapter tying this in with the end of Covert Affairs. Just not for a while. It would conflict with the rest of the series.


End file.
